Reflections
Finding Space for Play and Wonder
In Plato’s dialogue Theaetetus, Socrates says, “All philosophy begins in wonder” (155d). I recently thought of this in the midst of a discussion of Jesus’ idea that one must...
Something to Think About
Ten Things Forgiveness Is Not
Forgiveness is not the acceptance of injustice. Forgiveness is not a reason to keep things the way they always have been. Forgiveness is not incompatible with loving anger....
Discernment
Seagulls as an Image of the Evil Spirit
I like to watch seagulls as they glide across the sky, but as with many of God’s creatures, we can have negative interactions with them as well.
This past summer...
Spiritual Exercises
Contemplation to Attain the Love of God
The Contemplation to Attain the Love of God is a kind of capstone of Ignatius’s Spiritual Exercises. Sometimes it is phrased as “The Contemplation on Divine Love,” since God’s...
Spiritual Exercises
Ignatian Indifference
Often, we think about freedom as freedom from interference from others, but St. Ignatius understood freedom differently. For him, human freedom is a freedom to grow in relationship with...
Something to Think About
Living Out the Beatitudes, Part Two
In Pope Francis’s recent apostolic exhortation, Gaudete et Exsultate (Rejoice and Be Glad), he reflects on the Beatitudes as a guide for how we can increase in holiness. Last...